357/38 special?

**johnydavid** · September 25th, 2013, 07:34 PM

I had just bought a Uberti 357 mag cattleman. I know or I though I knew you can fire 38 specials through any 357 mag. My question is that I noticed my gun was labeled in the store "357 magnum" the Uberti beside it was a slightly different model but said 357 magnum / 38 special. I'm pretty sure I can shoot 38 specials in it but what concerns me is that in the cylinder there is a small lip in each bore where the end of the 357 casing rests. A 38 is a bit shorter and lead is a little sloppier when fired. I'm concerned that exposing this lip to passing lead will eventually wear it prematurely ruining the cylinder. Any thoughts?

**ScotsGuards** · September 25th, 2013, 08:27 PM

Shooting .38 Spls. through your .357 Mag. will not harm the revolver but could lead to lead build-up in the cylinder. This will cause case extraction issues if it get too severe. Be sure you clean your cylinder chambers well with a proper size bronze brush and use a good lead solvent from time-to-time. That should solve any leading and extraction issues. Tis goes for any other .357 Magnum revolver when using .38 Spls.

Enjoy your new Uberti. They are well made arms. I have several and have sold dozens of them with nary a negative experience.

As for the markings; I have seen that on a number of their arms. I don't know what they do that. I'll have to ask my Uberti Reps next time I talk to them.

**johnydavid** · September 25th, 2013, 08:33 PM

Originally Posted by ScotsGuards

Shooting .38 Spls. through your .357 Mag. will not harm the revolver but could lead to lead build-up in the cylinder. This will cause case extraction issues if it get too severe. Be sure you clean your cylinder chambers well with a proper size bronze brush and use a good lead solvent from time-to-time. That should solve any leading and extraction issues. Tis goes for any other .357 Magnum revolver when using .38 Spls.

Enjoy your new Uberti. They are well made arms. I have several and have sold dozens of them with nary a negative experience.

As for the markings; I have seen that on a number of their arms. I don't know what they do that. I'll have to ask my Uberti Reps next time I talk to them.

Thank you for your response. I was pretty sure but wanted to be 100%. I did shoot the 357mags last Saturday and man did it have a wallop. I've shoot a snubby Taurus before and it didn't have as much kick but I'm sure the 41/2" barrel makes a difference in horsepower. They certainly are well made and am very happy with the gun. I believe I'm going to buy a Uberti 44 mag now

**johnydavid** · September 25th, 2013, 08:37 PM

I'm going to start reloading soon and may just reload some lighter 357 rounds to about the 38 powder to prevent build up. I've heard shooting 357 mags all the time will wear out the gun but just holding it you can tell it's built like a brick shit house. I don't think I'll have to worry about the gun wearing out lol

**hornady** · September 26th, 2013, 08:15 AM

Lead is much easier on a barrel than jacketed ammo, a lead bullet is much softer than jacketed bullets and are not pushed to the speed of Jacketed. If done properly I don’t think you could ware a gun out in ten life times with cast bullets. The problem most have with lead bullets is a lack of an understanding of Lead bullets. Proper bullet to barrel fit is a must if shooting a steady diet of lead, then you must have an idea as to the hardness of the bullets you intend to use. A softer bullet something around a 15 BHN should not be pushed as fast as something in the 20 BHN range. Or gas checked bullets. A soft bullet pushed to fast will lead a barrel. As will a hard bullet pushed to slow. A little research before loading cast bullets will save you a lot of work later, If you get excessive leading it can be removed, just not a lot of fun.
I own a Dan Wesson revolver I bought in 1970. Over the years I don’t think this gun saw more than a box of jacketed bullets, It has run on a steady diet of cast bullets in 38 and 357 loads. It shoots today as well as it did in 1970. If new to reloading I would recommend you start with a plated bullet and as you progress move on to the cast bullet cast are by far the cheapest way to go. Another suggestion you mentioned the 44Mag, its up to you but I would take a look at the Ruger Super Black Hawk in 44Mag, I own one as well as a Ruger new model Black hawk in 45LC. Both are very strong and very nice handguns.

**afdcomposer** · September 26th, 2013, 08:29 AM

Originally Posted by ScotsGuards

Shooting .38 Spls. through your .357 Mag. will not harm the revolver but could lead to lead build-up in the cylinder. This will cause case extraction issues if it get too severe. Be sure you clean your cylinder chambers well with a proper size bronze brush and use a good lead solvent from time-to-time. That should solve any leading and extraction issues. Tis goes for any other .357 Magnum revolver when using .38 Spls.

Enjoy your new Uberti. They are well made arms. I have several and have sold dozens of them with nary a negative experience.

As for the markings; I have seen that on a number of their arms. I don't know what they do that. I'll have to ask my Uberti Reps next time I talk to them.

What he said. You can always put 38 sp. through a 357 Mag. revolver. (as far as I know)

Originally Posted by hornady

Lead is much easier on a barrel than jacketed ammo, a lead bullet is much softer than jacketed bullets and are not pushed to the speed of Jacketed. If done properly I don’t think you could ware a gun out in ten life times with cast bullets. The problem most have with lead bullets is a lack of an understanding of Lead bullets. Proper bullet to barrel fit is a must if shooting a steady diet of lead, then you must have an idea as to the hardness of the bullets you intend to use. A softer bullet something around a 15 BHN should not be pushed as fast as something in the 20 BHN range. Or gas checked bullets. A soft bullet pushed to fast will lead a barrel. As will a hard bullet pushed to slow. A little research before loading cast bullets will save you a lot of work later, If you get excessive leading it can be removed, just not a lot of fun.
I own a Dan Wesson revolver I bought in 1970. Over the years I don’t think this gun saw more than a box of jacketed bullets, It has run on a steady diet of cast bullets in 38 and 357 loads. It shoots today as well as it did in 1970. If new to reloading I would recommend you start with a plated bullet and as you progress move on to the cast bullet cast are by far the cheapest way to go. Another suggestion you mentioned the 44Mag, its up to you but I would take a look at the Ruger Super Black Hawk in 44Mag, I own one as well as a Ruger new model Black hawk in 45LC. Both are very strong and very nice handguns.

Your post has a lot of really useful information in it, and answers a number of different questions I've had about reloading. I'm not trying to be snarky here, but if you could possibly work on sentence structure in your posts that useful information would be a lot easier to understand.

**bob308** · September 26th, 2013, 12:47 PM

ruger pistols are marked .357 mag. all the other well known brands like s&w and colt are marked .357mag. but it is a well known fact that you can shoot .38 spl. in any of them.

**johnydavid** · September 26th, 2013, 07:25 PM

Originally Posted by hornady

Lead is much easier on a barrel than jacketed ammo, a lead bullet is much softer than jacketed bullets and are not pushed to the speed of Jacketed. If done properly I don’t think you could ware a gun out in ten life times with cast bullets. The problem most have with lead bullets is a lack of an understanding of Lead bullets. Proper bullet to barrel fit is a must if shooting a steady diet of lead, then you must have an idea as to the hardness of the bullets you intend to use. A softer bullet something around a 15 BHN should not be pushed as fast as something in the 20 BHN range. Or gas checked bullets. A soft bullet pushed to fast will lead a barrel. As will a hard bullet pushed to slow. A little research before loading cast bullets will save you a lot of work later, If you get excessive leading it can be removed, just not a lot of fun.
I own a Dan Wesson revolver I bought in 1970. Over the years I don’t think this gun saw more than a box of jacketed bullets, It has run on a steady diet of cast bullets in 38 and 357 loads. It shoots today as well as it did in 1970. If new to reloading I would recommend you start with a plated bullet and as you progress move on to the cast bullet cast are by far the cheapest way to go. Another suggestion you mentioned the 44Mag, its up to you but I would take a look at the Ruger Super Black Hawk in 44Mag, I own one as well as a Ruger new model Black hawk in 45LC. Both are very strong and very nice handguns.

Very interesting thank you for your input. I'm going to start a thread on reloading as soon as I get my gear but I'll def start with plated bullets as you said. I'm going to check out that Super Black Hawk tomorrow. I know I fell in love with that Uberti as soon as I held it. "that's what she said" lol

**ScotsGuards** · September 26th, 2013, 07:35 PM

Originally Posted by johnydavid

I'm going to start reloading soon and may just reload some lighter 357 rounds to about the 38 powder to prevent build up. I've heard shooting 357 mags all the time will wear out the gun but just holding it you can tell it's built like a brick shit house. I don't think I'll have to worry about the gun wearing out lol

You are somewhat correct. It's always easier on a firearm such as the 1875 design to go a bit easy on the load. It'll save wear and tear on the revolver and on YOU. That revolver was designed for a low pressure black powder propelled round. Both in form and function.

All of those curved backstrap, SAA type revolvers tend to roll in the hand due to recoil when fired and the hotter the cartridge/load the more severe the result. One of the reasons I don't own any of the SA style .44 Mags is I just don't like the un-pleasant experience of shooting them.

A steady diet of hot .357s will shoot most any medium frame revolver such as the 1875 design loose over time. The same thing goes for "K" frame S&Ws as well. I have some "K" frame Smith .357s I've had for years, some of which I've shot thousands of rounds through. Never a wear issue with timing or flame cutting as a large portion of those rounds were .38Spls. Those weapons still have thousands of rounds of life left in them as a result.

**hunterdan** · September 26th, 2013, 08:14 PM

I've got the same gun, it mostly sees 38 specials. I usually end my range trip with shooting a dozen or so 357 mags through it. It's a fun gun to shoot, and I find the recoil with the mags more than manageable. I did have to polish the chambers some as I had extraction issues with the mags in it. But it was easily worth what I paid for it and is a keeper.